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Hey Hackers, I constantly struggle with eating enough on Paleo. I'm a triathlete, and even though its off season, I havent finished a Crossfit WOD in I dont know how long and my coach asked me if I was eating enough. This was an issue in the middle of my season last year, and thought I had gotten ahold of it, but now I'm not too sure.
I have added white rice back into my diet, eat more fruit than a normal Paleo eater, and I cram sweet potatoes like they are candy. Now that my off season is starting to gear up towards on-season, I'm worried I will make the same mistakes I did last year. (these mistakes resulted in a DNF at my first half Ironman. Heartbreaking) I have never in my life thought I would have this problem, as I had binge-eating tendencies on the SAD. Maybe I am carrying the residual fear of binge eating on paleo over from SAD, I'm not sure. Psychology aside, I guess my question is what more can I eat and how often? I feel like I am eating all the time (3-4 times a day) but maybe I should be eating more like 4-6 times a day? Any endurance athletes out there that can shed some light?

Edit: Ok here is what i have planned to eat today and I can already tell its not enough. I did some sprint work this morning so I had a banana, leftover sweet potato salad and decaf coffee with coconut oil and water. I brought paleo Shepherd's Pie (with turnips and ground venison) for lunch today, but I'm already hungry and its only 10:36 my time so I will probably eat it now. For lunch, I'll probably hit up my local grocery store's salad bar (mixed greens, boiled eggs, olive oil and vinegar, ocra, carrots, cukes, sunflower seeds, bacon, chicken and whatever else they have) and maybe some canned smoked oysters. Usually I dont eat again until dinner, which is around 7:30 or 8. Tonight will probably be zucchini cakes with venison patties.

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Based on the comments below and your response (re: fat intake), it sounds like you are eating enough. A sample day of meals would be helpful. What leads to the DNF in the CF WODs and also in the half Ironman? Muscle fatigue? Breathing issues? Passing out? – Tom R. Feb 2 2012 at 16:17
ON the edit, I'm back to thinking it's not enough fat. I find things can get difficult when I'm overly keen on 'virtuous' meats. On the other hand, the fat is the best part of the pork chops I get and I sometimes find myself leaving the lean meat if I'm full. – PrimalDanny Feb 2 2012 at 18:27
I do the same thing. AT family dinners, I grab everyone else's fat of their plates if we were eat pork chops or beef. I get some pretty weird looks. So how can i get more fat? – McMeghann Feb 2 2012 at 19:15
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I think your solution is coconut milk smoothies.. Get 100% coconut milk with all of the medium-chain fat, mix it with fruit and a little ice, stevia it up if you want. They pack a caloric wallop! And the triglycerides burn readily for energy. – Zach Feb 2 2012 at 21:06
Also, consider having a snack between each meal. That's the only way I feel like I can get enough food. Hard boiled eggs are good at keeping hunger at bay for a couple of hours. Or I usually have a baggie filled with sliced veggies for a snack as well. – DanielleO812 Feb 4 2012 at 2:14

7 Answers

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I feel like I've been exactly here. I've tried upping the fat and upping the carbs. Finally, what I found works for me is upping the protein. I eat about 1-1.2 grams per pound of actual body weight, and since I'm in base training right now and shedding a few pounds, an equal amount of carbs, primarily pre and post runs, which I'll increase in season. I've never been a heavy protein eater. Sometimes it feels like I'm force feeding myself to get it all in during the day, but I feel fantastic, have plenty of energy for my runs, strength workouts, and weekly half-day hike. I've also noticed, for me, post workout nutrition is key. The days I am lax on this...letting it go an hour or more after my workout...I'm extremely sluggish, which is the pits if I have a second workout that day.

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As an add on, for me, I can't eat a lot of protein pre-run because it doesn't digest fast enough. I keep some white rice cooked with stock in my fridge that I eat pre-run, it includes just enough protein and carbs to keep me energized for the workout. I've also used sweet potatoes with coconut oil with great success. – Lindsay Feb 2 2012 at 23:11
Yea white rice has been my savior lately. Sometimes sweet potatoes dont even do the trick like white rice does. I will try eating more protein, but I worry I eat too much as is. I pop eggs like paleo candy but I guess I could cook up some sausage patties to keep in the fridge for snacks and such. – McMeghann Feb 3 2012 at 20:25
Agree here with the protein. I have done the best with leaner meats (grassfed ground; pork tenderloin; fish; some chicken) but eat a fair amount of it. I stay full and keep my weight up. Snacks usually aren't needed. – Tom R. Feb 5 2012 at 3:10
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Without knowing all the details, my impression is that this is more likely to be some malfunction in the process rather than simply insufficient fuel being available. You make no mention of fat. Have you been staying high on the sweet potatoes and fruit all along? It's certainly not unusual for people to feel as you do, but it shouldn't be a struggle to eat enough, which suggests there's something else wrong. And from the endurance perspective it's your fat metabolism that you want to be strong, and if you eat constantly then you give it very little opportunity. Could you perhaps give a little mor information on what you're eating, and in particular just how it is that you're 'failing'?

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I forgot to mention the fat!! I eat a tablespoon of coconut oil in my coffee every morning, I eat lots of bacon, eggs, avacado, homemade mayo, I even eat fattier meats, I save bacon grease and cook with it, I also added back more butter, and I drink at least 16 oz of coconut milk a day....Are there more ideas as to where I can get fat from? – McMeghann Feb 2 2012 at 15:12
It sounds like you should be well fed, which makes me even more suspicious of other less obvious problems which are affecting your performance. In terms of options though, do you have a known intolerance to dairy? – PrimalDanny Feb 2 2012 at 15:49
Yes, i do. I can eat high fat butter, but thats about it. I have been known to tolerate high quality parmesan though.... – McMeghann Feb 2 2012 at 16:17
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Would you mind editing your post with what a day of meals is for you? Also how long you've been Paleo? Also are you supp'ing at all? Whey, etc.?

It took me months to find nutritionally what exactly I needed to stay optimum at my workouts and went from 6 meals a day down to two. But I definitely let my body decide what it wants so some days its 2+. For reals, N=1 it seemed forever until I got it right. I never used to be able to go in fasted in the beginning of my Paleo/Primal transition and had banana/dried coconut/almond butter/sea salt before going in so I wouldn't flag. Now: a typical day for me is workout in a fasted state then food within 30 minutes: protein, veg, sweet potato, fruit, coffee. Dinner will be: protein, veg, tuber. Before bed: sheep milk yogurt. If there are snacks then maybe bites of dark chocolate, avocado, jerky, chopped veg, maybe a piece or two of raw cheese, etc. I will tell you now that I was literally eating 7lbs of tuber/sweet potato a week until the balance was achieved, I'm down to about 3-4 now, protein is around 3lbs a week, leafy veg 1.5lbs a week + fruit, squash, other veg.

Every body is different so what works for me may not for you but I thought it would be helpful for you to see a typical day.

Note: I workout heavy 4 days a week, lifting + CrossFit and am 5'7 123-125lbs, muscles are still growing. I've been athlete my whole life, swimming to CycloCross.

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Liquid calories are a lot easier to 'overfeed' on than solids. Add in a daily smoothie, and perhaps a cream-of-vegetable homemade soup. Dress your salads heavily, and add high-calorie toppings.

If it's a lack of oomph, you may just need more carbs...don't be afraid to play around with 100-200-300 g carbs with a heavy, explosive workout schedule, as long as they're not gluten-y, primarily glucose carbs. Downing a bunch of carbs is often hard the first day, but carbs beget more carb cravings/appetite, and that doesn't lead to binge feelings for me unless there's sugar or heavy fructose in the mix, at least for me.

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totally agree, back in my endurance running days my appetite was gone post training so all the Kcals where liquids. Make sure there's a bit of protein in them too. – Scotty Von Porkchop Feb 2 2012 at 16:24
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My friend is a triathlete. He is a vacuum cleaner on the food when he is on a long bike ride. I would say plan three of four meals a day and know ahead of time what you are going to eat. Also while bike riding you may need to suppliment with food if the ride is long. +1 for liquid foods.

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I add tallow, ghee, butter, and coconut oil to as many meals as possible.

Freezing tbsp chunks (or freezer trays) worth of coconut oil makes for an easy snack.

I also cook my sweet potatoes with a TON of fat, which just soaks it up.

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If you train in cold environment you can four times your normal weight without gaining weight. This is precisely how M Phelps and L Armstrong trained for their sports. In China Phelps found it difficult to find foods to meet his 18,000 calorie a day diet. He worked out 12-16 hours a day in 50 degree water to maintain it. Armstrong had an industrial freezer added to his training site and his home during his run to maintain his 12-15K calories a day.

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